loquacious
by dIVINErEDEMPTION
Summary: sequel to 'speechless'. "if talk is cheap, then being silent is expensive. and many people it seems, can't afford to buy into it."- anthony liccione. renée thought life couldn't get any better, growing up in the sunny town of Port Douglas with her mum and Jane. But when she discovers buried family secrets, the sunny town of Port Douglas won't feel so sunny anymore. [ON HIATUS!]
1. prologue

_**Sequel to 'speechless'.**_

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prologue

Renée's POV

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I snuggled up closer to my mum, Mr Wellington in my tiny arms, as she read slowly from the book. It was Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; my favourite. She's read the story to me more times than I could count but I never got bored of it.

I pulled my 'Barbie' covers over my small body, caressing it against my chest as I nestled my head into my mother's surprisingly comfortable shoulders. The dim lighting of my blue room, the soft fur of Mr Wellington coupled with the warmth of my pink pajamas and the soothing voice of my mother were making my eyes become heavy.

"…._In another moment down went Alice after it, never once considering how in the world she was to get out again._

_The rabbit-hole went straight on like a tunnel for some way, and then dipped suddenly down, so suddenly that Alice had not a moment to think about stopping herself before she found herself falling down what seemed to be a very deep well."_

I let my mind get lost in a world of talking bunnies, evil queens and mad haters.

_"Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her, and to wonder what was going to happen next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything: then she looked at the sides of the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and-"_

My mum's calming voice was soon replaced with a loud ringing sound, jolting me out of my slumber-like state. She let out an irritated sigh as she removed the thick, ancient book from her lap.

"Who the hell is calling me at nine pm?" She scowled as she pulled the phone out of her pocket; slowly rising from my bed. I sat up feeling annoyed that my bedtime story had been rudely interrupted.

My mum's scowl soon disappeared and was replaced with one of embarrassment. "It's Dr Phillips" She blushed. Dr Philips was her boss, well he was the one leading the research programme she was part of, so he gave orders to my mum and the rest of the workers that were part of the case. Let's just say he wasn't exactly 'nice' or 'easy-going'.

My mum quickly answered the call, looking slightly nervous. "Good evening Doctor Philips…" There was a muffled response and my mum's uneasy expression was again altered, but to one of shock. "Are you serious…? Oh my goodness…she's giving birth…yes…I'll be there right away." She hung up the phone, biting her lip with excitement and running a shaking hand through her messy blonde curls.

"What is it?" I asked curious and slightly confused. She suddenly started jumping up and down, throwing her hands in the air and squealing with liberation, before pulling me into a tight squeeze. My confusion only heightened. "Mum what's going on?"

"Renée do you know what this means?" She asked her hazel eyes gleaming with happiness; a broad grin on her face. I almost rolled my eyes at her juvenile question.

"Of course I don't know what it means." I huffed impatiently. She apologetically released me from her embrace, gently smoothing my onesie.

"Sorry, of course you don't know what it means." She shook her head. "Well you know Sara the whale that we've been, you know, experimenting on." I nodded my head remembering the large but cute sea creature, having encountered it many times. "Well, we've been trying to clone Willy the whale; you know the one who passed away." I nodded again remembering him, and how mum and I cried when he died. "Before he passed away we took some of his DNA, and put it in some embryonic stem cells, then we planted the embryos into Sara and then she became pregnant."

I didn't comprehend half of the sciency stuff she said but I still didn't understand why she was so happy. "If you knew she was pregnant, why are you so surprised she's given birth? Isn't that how things work normally?"

"Yeah it is, but she hadn't shown any signs of pregnancy before so we thought the procedure had failed." She explained. I nodded my head in realization.

"Well I'm happy for you, even though I don't really get how this is so important." I smiled at her and gave her hug.

"Thanks sweetie." She hugged me back less aggressively this time. "Oh no, I'm going to be late. I'll see you later." She gave me a quick peck on the cheek before running out of my bedroom. I followed her until I reached the top of the stair banister. She rushed down the stairs, grabbing her keys and bag. She had her hands on the door knob when my dad suddenly appeared, Jane following close behind.

"Kim, where are you going at this time of the night?" He asked concerned, his large hand on my mums. My mum blushed, she always blushes every time he's close. It was cute and kind of weird, I mean, doesn't everyone know that boys have lurgies?

"Oh there was an emergency call from the centre, it's urgent." She tried to clarify, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.

"Well do you want me to drive you there?" He offered.

"No it's fine." She replied, opening the door.

"Wait, don't I get a good bye kiss?" He joked, giving my mum a wink and a cheeky smirk. My mum's blush darkened, I felt like puking, but a part of me did want them to kiss, they haven't kissed since my dad arrived and they were my parents. Weren't parents supposed to kiss?

"Jack…" My mum began nervously, fiddling with the hem of her shirt furiously now as she stared at her feet. My dad smiled, I grinned at my mum's reluctance but when I looked at Jane she wasn't smiling at all. She had the same expression she wore the last time I trampled all over her Rhododendrons, and trust me she wasn't happy about that at all. Why was she angry?

My gaze soon shifted when my dad took a step towards my mum until they were an inch apart. I thought they were about to kiss and was I was prepared to cover my eyes, but he just placed a stray curl of golden hair behind my mum's ear, before stepping back. I nearly 'aaawwed' at them but I was interrupted when I saw Jane's expression darken from my peripheral vision. Why was she so angry?

"Stay safe." He smiled softly at her. My mum returned his farewell with a smile of her own and a slight wave of her hand. Then she disappeared out of the door.

So far no one had noticed my presence at the top of the stairs so I hid myself further into the darkness of the hallway. I watched as my dad stared longingly at the door as if doing so would make my mum come back. I found it slightly strange but 'love' was still an enormous concept to fully wrap my head around.

"I don't like what you're doing to Kim, Jack." Jane's strained voice echoed through the house. Jack turned to look at her; snapped from his daze and wearing a perplexed expression.

"I don't understand." He replied.

"Jack you fully understand what I'm talking about." Jane spat, a lot of emotion in her voice. I was taken aback and slightly scared. Jane had always been so nice, caring and sweet and dad and her always got along OK, so why this sudden change? "You're making her fall for you again; you're giving her false hope, making her think that the possibility of you two becoming a couple is higher than she thought. You're luring her in like a predator trying to catch its prey and when you finally have her you'll break her spirit and shatter her heart then leave her wounded and helpless just like you did before."

Jane was now a meter away from dad, angry tears pouring from her eyes, an angry expression on her face. I've never seen this side of Jane before and it scared me, but I was so lost. What did she mean? What had dad done to her before?

My dad wore a grim expression. "Jane, I would never do that to Kim, I love her." He retorted determinedly. He looked wounded and angry at Jane's harsh words. I believed him; I knew he was telling the truth, he loved my mum, why didn't Jane believe him?

Her response wasn't one I was expecting.

She laughed. Jane laughed. But this wasn't a sweet, care-free laugh, it was dry and empty.

"You love her. Of course you love her." She cackled sarcastically. "You love her with all your heart."

My dad stared at her like she was mad, I hate to admit it but I did the same too.

She was back to crying now. "But Jack have you forgotten the ring on your finger that represents your love for someone else?"

My dad covered his left hand with his right one, like realization just hit him. What? I was so confused. What ring? Why was he wearing a pained expression? What was going on?

"Donna and I are going through a little fall out." He confessed. Who was Donna? Did he have another daughter? Do I have a half-sister?

Jane shook her head in disappointment, running a wrinkled hand through her graying hair. "Jack that is no excuse, you made a commitment." I was getting very frustrated, I hated not knowing things.

My dad took a deep sigh, a pained look on his face as he hunched his shoulders in what looked like defeat. Why was he giving up? He loved my mum, didn't he?

"Jane- I know- you're right, I'm so sorry. I now you're only trying to protect Kim. Do you know what I'll reschedule my flight to leave for tomorrow afternoon. I can't do this anymore, I can't keep hurting her." He ran a hand through his chocolate locks, looking like he was on the brink of tears.

I wanted to cry now. I didn't want him to leave. I didn't want my daddy to leave, not yet. I saw Jane slowly reach her hand out to him, a regretful expression adorning her face.

"Jack I'm not asking you to leave just yet. Renée doesn't want you to leave, you can't do this to her. I know I was a bit harsh but-"

"Jane, I think it's for the best. For all of us." My dad looked Jane in the eyes; she shrank back, fresh tears slipping down her prominent cheek bones. I didn't realize I was crying until I unconsciously let out a small whimper. I covered my mouth quickly, but I was slightly late, because in that moment Jack and Jane's eyes shot up in my direction. I scampered further back into the darkness. They looked suspicious but I don't think they saw me.

"I'll go and check on Renée, one last time before I leave." He turned towards the stairs as Jane shrunk back into the living room.

I shot up from my position, and speedily tip-toed to my bedroom. I jumped under my duvet and grabbed Mr Wellington, pulled the pink fabric over my body and squeezed my eyes shut. I could hear his heavy footsteps ascending the stairs. I tried to reduce my racing pulse and pray he didn't see or hear me at the same time.

I heard my door open softly and felt the warmth of the light being switched on. It didn't take long before I felt my bed sink slightly at his weight. Then I felt his large but gentle hands stroke my hair.

At that moment I realised that what I was doing was stupid. I couldn't fake sleeping when he'd be leaving tomorrow; this is the only proper time I'd get to spend with him. I quickly shot up, all signs of slumber disappearing from my face.

I almost laughed at my dad's frightened expression, he looked like he was about to have a heart attack. "Jesus Renée, you scared the shit out of me!"

I stopped smiling as soon as he finished his sentence. I'm pretty sure my mouth was hanging open and my eyes were the size of saucers. I stared at him; at first he looked confused, but very soon he was copying my expression.

Realization soon hit him as his face shifted from annoyance to shock and slight fear. He grabbed a hold of my shoulders, staring at me with panicked eyes. "You didn't hear a thing!"

I smirked slightly. "But I did. You said sh-!" My mouth was soon covered with his big hands. He looked even more panicked.

"Just don't tell your mum or Jane for that matter." He pleaded. I raised my eye brow, a fantastic scheme popping into my mind. I almost snickered at my smart plan.

"What's the price?" I smirked. He narrowed his eyes at me.

"$10." He negotiated.

"$20." I retorted. I wasn't that cheap.

"$15. Final offer." He finalized.

"Done." It was better than $10.

He brought out two crumpled notes from his jeans pocket, and placed them reluctantly in my opened palm. I clutched the notes in my hand a triumphant smile on my face.

"I'm pretty sure this is black mail." He stated.

"Well it depends if you want to admit to being tricked by a ten year old." I quipped smartly.

"Touché." He responded, a goofy grin on his lips as I placed the money in my heavy piggy bank. I was going to have that new scooter in no time. I couldn't wait to show Amaya. Then we'll show Holly Reinfield who's the coolest girl in the school. I laughed menacingly, anticipating the time when I get to see the annoyed look on the sleazy girl's face, and maybe I was looking forward to a few tears too. She thought she was so cool, it was pathetic.

"Hey, do you want me to read you this book so you can go to bed. It's way, way past your bed time." I was snapped out of my thoughts by my dad's voice. I turned around to see him holding 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'. I smiled at his caring offer but that's not how I wanted to spend our time together.

"No, let's just talk." I suggested, sitting next to him and grabbing Mr Wellington again.

"OK." He shrugged, putting the tattered book down. He looked a bit lost for words so I started the conversation first.

"Remember the time we went snorkeling in the barrier reef." My mind flashed in remembrance and the beautiful view of the exotic fishes, turquoise waters and peculiar sea plants swam in my vision.

"Oh I remember that." He added. We began reminiscing about our two weeks spent together, from the time I saw him at the airport and he scooped me into his arms to now. I wanted to interrogate him about the argument down stairs at first but I didn't think that would be a good waste of time. So we just talked and talked, well I did most of the talking until finally…

"Wow, look at the time. It's past midnight already." He began. I grinned feeling slightly rebellious; this was the first time I've stayed up past ten pm! "We've been talking for more than two hours. Renée you are one loquacious girl."

I tilted my head in confusion. What did laqua-laquashi- whatever he said mean?

He quickly interpreted my response.

"Loquacious means talkative. You talk way too much for a ten year old." He explained, ruffling my hair playfully. I grinned at his truthful and factual description of my personality.

"I never thought you knew any big words." I joked snidely. He placed his hand on his chest in mock offence.

"Was that an insult?" He gasped.

I smirked. "Maybe."

A pillow fight was soon initiated which ate up more of my bedtime but I wasn't complaining.

At one am, I waved 'good morning' to my dad and snuggled under my duvet once again; the dim radiance of my night light illuminating the blue room.

I hugged Mr Wellington in my arms. "Loquacious, loquacious." I liked the way the word rolled on my tongue. I turned to Mr Wellington. "What do you think of the word loquacious?"

I stared into the beady eyes of the teddy bear I had become attached to from birth.

_It's a brilliant word Renée! I love it!_

I pulled Mr Wellington closer to me and smiled. "I loved the word too." I closed my eyes. "_**loquacious.**_"

* * *

_**You might want to read 'speechless' if you want this to make more sense. Until next time...**_


	2. one

one

Renée's POV

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_Six years later…_

The smell of body odour wafted through the classroom as the sun beat down like a relentless bully suffocating and frying us. All the windows were open and the air conditioning was on full blast, but not a beautiful breeze of air or satisfying gust of machine generated wind had touched my burning skin.

Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead, matting my hair, dampening my clothes and wetting my face and neck. I looked out of the window and scowled at the sun, unappreciative of its heavy heat.

It was the worst heat wave I've ever experienced and I was stuck in a humid and stuffy history class with a prehistoric teacher, who I'm sure, was some sort of ghost because she hadn't broken a sweat throughout the lesson.

I scanned the rest of the classroom and realised my fellow classmates were experiencing as much discomfort as me.

I sighed deeply in exasperation as Mrs Crane carried on droning on and on about how Australia was affected by the American Civil War. I chewed on my bubble gum loudly, not giving a crap whether she heard me or not. She carried on spouting out facts about the 'Union', 'immigration', 'cotton plants' and the 'issue with slavery' like an obediently irritating robot unaware that more than half of the students in the classroom were fast asleep or probably melting. I sunk my head into my hands, still chewing on my now flavourless gum.

I scrunched my face in disgust; partially for the incompetence of Mrs Crane, the harshness of the heat and partly for the bitter, vile taste spreading across my tongue. Why did I decide to take this stupid history class in the first place? It was clearly a waste of my time.

I let my head slip out of my palms and on to the hard cold desk. I breathed a sigh of pleasure as the cool solid surface made contact with my scorching face. If life were a cartoon I'm sure I would have saw steam floating from my face at that moment.

Mrs Crane cleared her throat loudly, jolting the classroom out of there slumbers and daydreams. When will this lady realize that half of the things she teaches go through one ear, around our brains and out the other ear?

"Can I have your attention please?" She didn't seem bothered whether we were paying attention or not a few minutes ago. "I'll be setting you a personal history project." She began, but was soon interrupted by the loud and angry groans of the class.

It doesn't matter whether she called it a personal project, task, assignment, investigation or even a flipping mission! It will always and forever mean homework. Stupid, stupid homework.

"Now, now calm down." She twitched her wrinkly index finger in a failed attempt to silence us. "It's only a small project. All you have to do is find out some interesting facts about your family's history and how you're ancestors were affected by the American Civil War. Remember it's worth 50% of your final grade" Mrs Crane explained but the groans emanating from the classroom grew even loud.

An assignment sheet was bad enough, an essay was even worse, and don't even get me started on research but an actual project! I know she said a 'project' but I never knew she actually meant a _project_! Is this what my life has come to?

"I'll be particularly interested in what you produce Renée, since your parents actually originate from the great country." She smirked causing the whole class to turn their heads in my direction. If I hadn't held onto the little piece of self-control I had left, I probably would have pounced on her.

That didn't stop me from glaring though.

The wrinkly witch, she always had to pick on me didn't she?

"Now get your notebooks out and write down your homework. It's due in after the holidays so you've got enough time to get it done. I want no excuses!" Everybody reluctantly obeyed, scribbling down the homework.

The thought of doing homework during the summer holidays made me sick.

Before we could be victims of Mrs Crane mind-numbing babbling again the loud bell echoed throughout the stale classroom, signalling us to lunch and unintentionally saving our lives. Students fled out of the schoolroom like wildebeests being chased by a pride of lions.

I followed their example, without hesitation.

I made my way to the canteen excited about having a Mrs Crane-less holiday in just a few hours. When I saw a head of long, straight black hair attached to a slim body I immediately knew it was Amaya. I walked up to her and happily tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around; her lips tugging to a grin when she saw me. She randomly pulled me into a hug which surprised me; it was just like Amaya to hug me unexpectedly. I smiled at her behavior but was quite embarrassed, I was sweating like a pig on a spit, and I'm sure I was moistening her clothes.

"Amaya, get off me. I haven't woken from a coma, you saw me just before my last lesson." I chuckled. She let go of me the grin still on her face.

"Sorry Ren, it's hard not to hug you. You have such a sunny presence." My smile widened at her weird antics.

"I think I've had enough sunniness to last me my life time." I joked, and then I turned to her, and I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. "How are you not sweating? Are you and Mrs Crane ghosts? Vampires? Because I really need to know your secret." I was dressed in some jean shorts that reached mid-thigh, a floral tank top, sandals and my hair was packed in a high bun to stop it from sticking to my neck, yet I was dripping. Dripping? Dripping!

She let out a small laugh before tapping her nose mischievously. I huffed before walking to the food line; I was really craving a hamburger. It didn't take long before I was sitting next to Amaya, biting into the juicy meat of my burger while she ate her sushi neatly.

She loved sushi, well she would; she was from Japan after all. We've been best friends since kindergarten and have been inseparable ever since. Her parents moved to Australia from Tokyo twenty years ago so she was born here. She was pretty with her straight dark hair and warm dark brown eyes. She was a genius too; she was in the top set, while I was stuck in second and third set.

It's not like I was stupid. I was quite smart when I wanted to be, I just tend to get easily distracted, be lazy, forget to do my homework, be argumentative, not cooperate with people in general, and be difficult… you get my drift.

She also had a weird obsession with 'Hello Kitty'. When we were toddlers it was normal, and I thought that by the end of primary school she would have ditched the mouth less cartoon cat but we're in high school and she still carries the merchandise around; her bedroom is literally covered in the stuff. It was more than strange but that was one of the reasons I loved her.

I like her name too. Amaya meant 'night rain' in Japanese, which I thought was pretty cool. My name just meant 'reborn' in French. What mother would name their child 'reborn'?

My mother of course.

"You really don't want to do this project huh?" We had been talking about the stupid assignment.

"Yeah!" I answered impatiently like it was the most obvious thing in the world. Of course I didn't want to do it, it was boring and would take up time but there was a deeper reason.

Family was a bit of a sensitive subject for me. Like, I hardly knew anything about my family and I kind of liked it that way, if they loved me they would look for me. Right? It was my mum, Jane and me and that's how things have always been and I was fine with that.

I still missed my dad though.

My mum told me her parents died and Jane was her foster mum, that's the only bit of information she shared about her past family. She never told me how they died or when, but I could tell by the pained expression she wore, whenever I mentioned them, that it was a touchy subject. As a result I never pried. I was happy with the way my life was.

I guess I was scared of what I would discover. I didn't really want to start prying now anyway. I had a normal life, and my little family was perfect the way it was, wasn't it?

I dropped my burger onto my tray in frustration. I was too young to be thinking about all these serious issues. Amaya must have recognized my stressed body language so she kept quiet, but I knew she had realised the cause of my distress.

Our quiet conversation was soon interrupted by two brash scrapes of chairs and two large thuds. I immediately knew it was the twins. I raised my head, a smile instantly appearing on my face at the sight of the blonde troublemakers.

"Hey Jake, Hi James." I greeted as Amaya waved in welcome.

"Hello." They beamed in unison. They began digging into their sandwiches which I'm sure were layered thickly with Vegemite; their favourite.

I hated the stuff.

It was like them to skip conversation and head straight for the food. They were a handsome pair, you could hardly tell the difference between the two except for the fact that James had blue eyes and Jake had green. They had long slightly curly hair that was a light blonde colour but were strawberry blonde at the tips. Their faces were covered in freckles and they were really tall too.

They were very athletic so they were in good shape; girls certainly had crushes on them. Amaya and I were immune to their charms after knowing them since primary school. They were the type of people who never failed to put a smile on your face, or make you roll around in fits of laughter. They weren't the brightest but they were definitely the funniest.

"Ren why the glum face? You're not as _loquacious_ as you normally are." Jake asked with a mouthful of Vegemite and bread. I would have recoiled if I wasn't used to it. And I kind of appreciated the fact he used my favourite word.

"Yeah, you look like someone shoved a pine cone up your ass." James interjected. I could have laughed at his statement but he did have a point, the pain I was experiencing almost felt the same.

"She has to do a project about her family history." Amaya answered for me. Jake and James winced; all three of them knew that family was a bit of a complex topic for me, especially when it came to my dad. He abandoned me and my mum, I could never forgive him for that, but I still loved him.

"I'm sure it'll be alright." James reassured patting me on the shoulder.

"Yeah, it's not like you have anything to hide." Jake stated confidently.

Yeah I don't have anything to hide. Do I?

"It won't be that bad, I'm sure you'll find something interesting to do and with my help you'll be getting an A in no time." She smiled.

You see, this is why I loved these guys. This is the reason why they were my friends. I grinned "Thanks guys, I really appreciate your support."

Amaya waved her hand like it was no problem while James and Jake smirked.

"I know we're the best." They said in unison. But they were soon interrupted by Holly Reinfield of all people. Yes _both_ of them had a huge crush on the girl.

"Oh, isn't she the best." They swooned in unison face in palm and eyes glazed. They stared at the red head as she strutted with her small posse to 'the prestige' table; a dainty salad in her hand. I nearly gagged at their sappiness.

"Well if you look past her shitty personality." I shrugged, taking another bite into my burger innocently.

"Why do you hate her so much? She's never done anything to you." Jake pouted a somewhat hurt look on his face. He had a point. She hadn't personally targeted me, she knows not to, but she just annoyed me in general. I've pretty much disliked her from kindergarten.

She was fake, all she cared about were her looks, she was rude and she thought she was better than everybody else, I mean, who does she think she is? She has the decency to make people that she _thinks_ are inferior to her feel like scum! She has no flipping right!

"I just don't like her." I answered simply. They both rolled their eyes in unison, and turned back to the annoying ginger. They did everything in unison, didn't they?

"I don't know why people love and adore her so much. I was her tutor for a week and she was the shallowest, vainest and the most naïve person I've ever met. I don't know if she acts like that on purpose, but if she does she needs to stop. Like now." Amaya spoke up.

Thank you, someone agreed with me! I knew I could count on Amaya but the twins have already been trapped under her evil spell. They were completely infatuated with her that they weren't even paying attention to what Amaya said.

"Dude, I'm so having her." James drooled.

"No way, she's mine!" Jake argued.

"Mate, I'm thirty three seconds older than you."

"So?"

"Can you guys stop arguing?" Amaya rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, you can both have her I'm sure she wouldn't mind having both of you. To her it will like a 'buy one get one free', or 'two for one' thing." I suggested, not sure why I came up with such a silly idea.

"NO!" They objected in harmony. I raised my hand in surrender. Really, she wasn't _all_ that.

I'm not saying she's ugly, don't get me wrong. She's beautiful and kind of unique in a way. Normally stereotype dictates that all 'gingers' should be nerdy, wear thick glasses and wear their hair in plaits, trust me I'm not a fan of stereotypes but sometimes I wish she was one because it would at least make her more humble and kind and definitely more interesting. Unfortunately she isn't one of those 'gingers'.

She's got long ginger tresses, and freckles that look like they've been placed so precisely on her high cheek bones and porcelain skin. It's so beautifully organised; it is kind of scary. She was slim, tall and athletic, and she wore minimal make up and nice clothes. But the most striking thing about her was her sharp grey eyes that looked like they could pierce your soul. If I was a lesbian or a guy, I would probably be crushing on her like everyone else, but I'm not so I'm jealous instead.

And then there's her personality… No comment.

"Can you two stop _staring_ and _drooling_, I'm trying to _eat_ thank you." She asked in a fake, sickly sweet voice. I knew it was false by the way she scrunched her face in disgust and laughed after she said it. The whole of 'the prestige' table started laughing and James and Jake were red as tomatoes. They looked extremely embarrassed.

"What did Ren tell you? Shitty personality; shitty person." Amaya recalled. The twins faces only darkened and they didn't say a word. "Give up on her, many other girls fancy you."

I hadn't said a thing, I was seething. How _dare_ she make an example of _my_ friends? How _dare_ she make them look like idiots? The heat was really starting to affect me and I had had enough of all this crappiness today.

"You know Holly, I hate to say this but you're not the prettiest person you know." I began, putting on my own sickly sweet voice, loud enough for everyone to hear. Amaya, James and Jake sent me warning looks, shaking their heads frantically but I ignored them.

The hall was silent.

"Excuse me?" She inquired, but I knew she heard me.

But I was fine with repeating it.

"I said you're not that pretty." I repeated. I could sense the shocked looks on people's faces including hers. "You think so highly of yourself, think your better than everyone else but I know you love it when people praise you and compliment, stare and drool. You love every second of it, but you act like you don't and that makes you pathetic."

I could hear muffled gasps of surprise. Holly looked like she was about to explode.

I wasn't done.

"You're like a performing monkey, you live to hear the applause from the crowd and you can't deny it. All you are is an attention seeker and a bogus person. You spend all your life fixing your face, fixing your hair and fixing your clothes but let me give you some good advice; fix your personality because it stinks like dog shit" I spoke in a calm voice, emphasizing each word. Her face was turning a shade of mauve.

"You can gossip with your phony friends and chew fussily on your grass but _never, ever_ pick on _my_ friends, or else you'll have _me_ to deal with, and trust me, you will not like that arrangement. I'm done, thanks for listening." I smiled the fakest smile I could muster, before returning to my burger.

Well that felt good.

She blubbered her mouth like a fish like she was about to say something, but she soon gave up with a frustrated growl before stomping out of the cafeteria; her mortified posse in toe.

Everyone was staring at me, I wasn't a big fan of staring so I shot the students in the cafeteria a glare and they soon returned to their food. But my friends were still staring at me, their eyes as wide as saucers and they're mouths hanging open.

I ate my burger nonchalantly. "What?"

There was a moment of silence between us, and then our lips began to tug at the edges and the next thing you know we were all laughing even James and Jake.

We carried on laughing until the end of lunch and the next thing I know I was sitting in a desk in my psychology class waiting for Amaya. This was the only lesson I had with her. She arrived along with the other students and sat in the desk next to me.

"Oh my goodness, I still can't believe you said those things to her face Ren." She giggled.

"Trust me it could have been worse." I replied truthfully, chuckling as well.

When all the desks were full and Mr West had taken the register, he began the lesson. Psychology class was probably the only class I paid all of my attention to. I was very interested in the subject and I was glad it was my last lesson before the summer holidays, even though I hated to admit it.

Last week we studied bipolar disorder and today we would be studying schizophrenia which I was looking forward to.

"Today we will be studying Schizophrenia." He began. "Doctors often describe schizophrenia as a psychotic illness. This means sometimes a person may not be able to distinguish their own thoughts and ideas from reality."

I listened closely and began writing notes; everyone else did the same. It was normally like this in lessons; he'd give us the information by just talking or writing it on the board and then we'd copy it out for when we needed them for exams. I guess Mr West was lazy, so he didn't bother setting tasks or homework. I wasn't complaining, at least the stuff he was talking about was actually interesting.

Mrs Crane needs to take a leaf from his book.

"The exact cause of schizophrenia is unknown. However, most experts believe the condition is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. It is thought certain things make you more vulnerable to developing schizophrenia, and certain situations can trigger the condition."

"Some people have misconceptions about the mental illness. It is commonly thought that people with schizophrenia have a split personality, acting perfectly normally one minute and irrationally or bizarrely the next - this is not true. Some people mistakenly equate schizophrenia with violent behavior, but people with the condition are rarely dangerous. Any violent behavior is usually sparked off by illegal drugs or alcohol, which is the same for people who don't have schizophrenia."

Huh? I've heard many cases about killers and murderers who have the condition. Hmm, that's something new…

"The symptoms include: hallucinations - hearing or seeing things that do not exist, delusions - unusual beliefs not based on reality which often contradict the evidence, muddled thoughts based on the hallucinations or delusions and changes in behavior. There are others as well but I don't want to go into too much detail…"

For the rest of the lesson we listened and scribbled notes until the wonderful bell resonated at three pm and all of us ran out of school like mad men.

School was out for summer and everyone couldn't wait to start their holidays, even the teachers.

Amaya and I were jumping about and singing our favourite songs, even James and Jake joined in. We walked home together every day after school in our little foursome. Port Douglas was a stunning town, who'd want to miss out on the beautiful view and fresh air for a ride in a stuffy vehicle.

The twins and I normally go surfing at Four Mile Beach after dropping Amaya off at her house; her hobby was martial arts which she happened to have a black belt in.

I sent my mum a quick text that I was going to the beach; if I didn't she would start panicking. You will not like my mum when she's panicky, trust me.

We chatted as we walked, and I silently thanked the forces of nature for finally allowing some wind.

"So what did you smart asses learn in psychology?" Jake asked curiously.

"Schizophrenia." I replied. "It was really interesting."

"I've heard about that, watched a documentary about some killer who had it. It gave me the creeps." James confessed.

"You're damn right; it scared the hell out of me." Jake agreed.

"Some of the stuff that goes through their head, the things they experience. Imagine being like that, a slave to your own corrupted mind. It sounds very disturbing." Amaya admitted.

I agreed with all of them, I was slightly freaked out by the stuff Mr West told our class. It terrified me just picturing it.

"I'm just glad I don't have it or none of my relatives either." Amaya breathed.

"Same." The twins approved in unison.

I shivered at the thought of having it, or knowing someone who did. That would be dreadful.

"Me too." I agreed. "Me too."


End file.
